November 10, 2023
The Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada denounces the NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) and affirms that the NCC is not an Inuit collective, that its members are not capable of holding rights through section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, and that they are not recognized as being Inuit by the members of Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada.
The ICC Canada Board and Inuit delegates discussed this issue at the recent ICC Annual General Meeting in Nain, Nunatsiavut on September 28, 2023 and there was unanimous agreement that a response is required at both the national and international levels. The NCC is increasing its advocacy in the international space, by recently attending the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in April 2023 and major international events like the Arctic Circle Assembly 2023 in Iceland last month.
The NCC, formerly known as the Labrador Metis Association, is currently lobbying the federal government and other institutions for access to Inuit-specific programs and services. The federal government has been unclear in its response to this advocacy, which has created confusion and undermines efforts to improve the social and economic conditions of Inuit both within and outside Inuit Nunangat.
ICC Canada supports the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent on October 7, 2021, and the ITK open letter issued November 7, 2023, urging the Government of Canada to exclude the NCC from accessing federal Inuit-specific policies, programs, and initiatives that are intended to benefit Inuit. The Nunatsiavut Government has joined the Innu Nation’s court challenge of a 2019 Memorandum of Understanding on Advancing Reconciliation, which will be heard in Ottawa.
ICC Canada’s partner organization, ITK, has also expressed that the continued entertainment of NCC’s claims by the federal government could create an alarming and disturbing precedent, potentially enabling similar groups with fraudulent claims to emerge and seek recognition of rights based on unfounded and illegitimate assertions.
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